Ohio event honors woman's historic 1964 flight

The Columbus Regional Airport Authority and The Columbus Foundation are commemorating the 50th anniversary of Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock's solo flight around the globe. She was the first female pilot to accomplish that feat.

A bronze, life-sized statue depicting Mock holding a globe was going on display Thursday at Port Columbus, the airport where she landed her single-engine Cessna 180 on April 17, 1964. A local "Women in Aviation" pilot was scheduled to land a plane similar to Mock's "Spirit of Columbus" later Thursday.

Mock is now 88 and couldn't make it to Ohio from her Florida home for the event.

The Newark, Ohio, native was honored at the White House in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.